Discipleship practices for those making disciples.

Menu

Thinking of Yourself Less

S (Scripture): Romans 12:3 For by the grace given to me I say to every one of you not to think more highly of yourself than you ought to think, but to think with sober discernment, as God has distributed to each of you a measure of faith. 4 For just as in one body we have many members, and not all the members serve the same function, 5 so we who are many are one body in Christ, and individually we are members who belong to one another. 6 And we have different gifts according to the grace given to us. If the gift is prophecy, that individual must use it in proportion to his faith. 7 If it is service, he must serve; if it is teaching, he must teach; 8 if it is exhortation, he must exhort; if it is contributing, he must do so with sincerity; if it is leadership, he must do so with diligence; if it is showing mercy, he must do so with cheerfulness.

O (Observation): Paul is nearing he end of his letter to the Jewish and Gentile Christians in Rome. Neither the Greek nor the Jew is a “better” or “more faithful” follower of God. Each has their own troubles and is made righteous by grace alone, apart from any good work.

A (Application): Humility, then, is the key to the Christian walk. And if humble, then one would think to serve others first. Yes, we need to take care of ourselves, but I have been surprised by God at the “plenty” that I feel I have in response to being generous in my giving. Not that we have had a windfall of money, but we have enough.

The same goes for serving others with the gifts God has given us. As we give, according to imhow we are gifted, we feel renewed, even if we wore ourselves out serving someone else.

A good way to sum this up is in the quote I leave with you today…a quote (maybe from CS Lewis?) I read somewhere on my journey:

Humility is not thinking less of yourself…but thinking of yourself less.

Blessings!

P (Prayer): Lord, help me to know I have all I need in your grace: enough for me and my family, and enough for us to serve others in this world. Amen.